Tea
by eternallywishing
Summary: On a chilly winter's night, a cup of tea may be all it takes to warm two people's hearts. Oneshot; Hijikata and Chizuru.


_A/N:I haven't written in a long time, so I just whipped up this one-shot. It's cheesy. Very cheesy. And it's very influenced by Hakuouki: Yuugi Roku xD I finished the Hijikata Route and I really wanted to write a Hakuouki fanfiction after that.  
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_This is a HijikataxChizuru fic. Maybe I'm just biased from the anime, but I like that pairing more than the rest...even though I support everyone else with Chizuru as well, lol. But I still love HijikataxChizuru the best~_

_Sorry for any errors in flow/grammar and how horribly cheesy this is._

_Enjoy~  
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><p>The moonlight shone coldly on the Shinsengumi headquarters, bathing it in a silvery color. The air was crisp and cold, cold enough to show mist when one breathed into it. A delicate dusting of snow covered everything, and the beautiful flakes continued to fall into the night. From far away, the falling flakes looked like cherry blossoms, or drifting feathers.<p>

It was very late into the night, and very few soldiers were awake, if any at all. Chizuru wrapped a _haori_ around her shoulders before quietly sliding the door to her room closed. Even with her _haori_, it was still frigid, and she shivered. But she ignored the chill and instead walked down the hallways toward the kitchen, where she lit a stove. The stove roared with fiery warmth; for a moment she could not help but place her frigid hands in front of the flickering flames.

Then she remembered her original task. Chizuru poured water from the well into the pot, and when it boiled, she carefully measured out just enough tea leaves to provide a rich taste, but not so much that the taste would turn bitter. She steeped the leaves in the water, and when the tea was ready, she poured it into a cup and set the cup on a tray.

When she left the kitchen, the air was surprisingly cold, and her teeth chattered from the chill. Glancing at the cup of steaming tea that probably would not be hot for much longer if she stayed in the cold, Chizuru quickened her steps and took a shortcut through headquarters that led her to the only room with candlelight still glowing.

She set down her tray on the wooden floor, before glancing at the door. It was impossible to see clearly through the thick paper, yet she was quite sure that he was still awake.

"Um…Hijikata-_san?"_

There was no answer. Chizuru mustered her voice and tried again. "Hijikata-_san_? It's Chizuru. May I come in?"

There was silence, again. Chizuru glanced at the tea cup once more, before slipping her fingers through the gap between the door and the wall. "Excuse me, I'm coming in."

The room was brightly lit, with multiple candles burning. The room was mostly bare, save for a writing desk stacked with papers, and surrounded with even more. Sitting in front of the writing desk was a man with long black hair, his hand holding a brush that moved deftly across a sheet of paper in front of him.

Chizuru quietly closed the door, and stepped closer to the writing desk. "Um…Hijikata-_san_?"

He finally seemed to notice her. Hijikata turned his head, and narrowed his eyes. Up close, Chizuru could clearly see the dark shadows that outlined the dark violet irises, making him appear much older than he really was. "What are you doing here? It's so late. You should be sleeping."

"Yes, but I knew that Hijikata-_san_ would probably be awake at this hour working on Shinsengumi related work, so…" Chizuru set the cup of tea on his desk. "I made some tea."

He seemed genuinely surprised by the steaming cup on his desk. Chizuru nervously regarded him for a moment, for he did not move, and seemed to be frozen to the spot. Then his face broke into a wry smile that seemed to break the ice between them.

"Really, I can't keep getting spoiled by you with this." Hijikata set down his brush, and then picked up the cup and took a sip from it. "It's good."

"R, really? I'm glad that you like it," Chizuru nervously answered, her cheeks turning pink as she spoke. "Y-you're the first one to say so."

"Mm." He turned to face her. "Then I'm glad I got that chance, then. It's delicious, Chizuru."

"Eh?" She shifted in surprise, her already-pink cheeks darkening to an even more severe color. "It's nothing much, really…it's not that good."

"But it is." Hijikata took another long drink. "For a person who's been working on paperwork for hours, it's refreshing. I've always been cooped up here doing paperwork for the Shinsengumi. Nobody gives a second thought to how many hours I spend in here filling out papers and calculating things."

"I'm sure the others are worried about you too," Chizuru objected. "I know that Kondou-_san_ and Saitou-_san_ are really concerned about you. You should take a break more often, Hijikata-_san_."

"I know, I know," he sighed. "Being able to drink your tea makes me feel more relaxed, though. Sometimes the scent and taste of it makes me forget that I have a mountain of work left, and I imagine that I'm all done with it. "

"Do you really enjoy drinking tea that much?" Chizuru questioned, a little surprised.

"I do." Hijikata set down the now empty cup on his table. "It's very nostalgic, and makes me think of the times I spent with Kondou-_san_ and the rest at the Shieikan Dojo. We'd sit down with our teacups and chat for hours, until it was well past midnight. Although," he added with a smile, "most of the younger boys preferred _sake_ over tea."

"Ah…now that you mention it, Heisuke-_kun_, Nagakura-_san_, and Harada-_san_ never seem to drink much tea..." Chizuru mused.

"That's right. Those boys only seem to ever want to drink _sake_," Hijikata sighed. "Really, their livers are going to fail if they keep drinking at this rate…maybe it's lucky that I can't drink _sake_, although it's not like I can prolong my life just by not drinking, since I'm in the Shinsengumi after all…" he rambled.

"Eh?"

"Unfortunately, whatever Souji says about my drinking habits is probably true. I can't drink _sake_ at all," Hijikata confessed, his expression slightly embarrassed as he spoke. "I get drunk really quickly…"

"Eh, well, that wasn't really my point…" Chizuru stammered, not sure what to make of the current situation.

"Well, it's fine." He reached over and ruffled her hair, his callused fingers running gently through her smooth black locks. "As long as I have your tea, I'll survive."

"Eh?"

"So, please don't stop making it for me. I really appreciate it." Hijikata turned back to his work, and picked up his brush again. "I'd better get back to work. Thanks for the tea break, Chizuru."

"No, it really wasn't anything," she answered, although her face felt warm with the praise. "Don't work too hard, Hijikata-_san_."

"Yeah, I won't. Go to sleep, Chizuru. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes!" she answered. "Good night, Hijikata-_san_."

Chizuru closed the sliding door, and picked up the tea tray. She paused momentarily, turned around to take one last glance at Hijikata's room, and her mouth raised ever-so-slightly into a small smile. She then stood up and began to walk briskly to the kitchen to rinse off the cup.

A wind blew past; her long hair rippled and waved in the chilly gust. A single snowflake fell on her cheek as she cut through the courtyard, and melted into a cool liquid on her skin. However, Chizuru did not feel the chill of the winter night as she had before. Tonight, she decided, was as warm as a cup of hot tea.

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><p><em>Haori - a coat that goes over the kimono. The Shinsengumi's blue haori with mountain stripes is an example of one. Another example is the black haori that Kondou always wears.<em>

_Thank you for reading~!_

_**...Please Review...**  
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